Friends and Allies
by fireman23
Summary: What if Ragnar had not executed Jarl Borg, but instead truly reinstated their broken alliance?
1. Allegiance and fealty

_A/N: What if Ragnar had not executed Jarl Borg, but instead truly reinstated their old alliance?_

 _This is set during the good old times of Vikings Season 2._

 _Disclaimer: I don't own Vikings. It belongs to its rightful owners._

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 **01 Allegiance and fealty**

"My brother doesn't hold grudges", Rollo explained, "Ragnar is strange that way…"

Not that he thought this mission of gaining their worst enemy for an ally had any chance of success. Nevertheless, he had followed his brother's orders.

"He does not want revenge?" Jarl Borg doubted, "I know that I would, after what I did."

"Ragnar looks beyond", Roll tried to reason, "Men like you and I will always look for revenge, but Ragnar is able to see what can be gained…"

The Geatish Jarl looked at the other man. The proposal seemed too good to be true, yet there was of course the possibility of him walking into a trap.

Ignoring his newly-wed wife Torvi, he looked at the table where he had placed his first wife's skull. The one he could never forget, no matter what was going to happen.

"What do you say, my love?" he asked the skull. Jarl Borg tried to imagine what she would have said, were she still alive. Then he turned to Rollo.

"She says I should go", Borg declared.

* * *

Kattegat's great hall was filled with people as King Horik, Jarl Borg and Earl Ragnar Lothbrok celebrated their reformed alliance. In the middle of the room, the flames on the hearth were tingling high, while servants were roasting meat and pouring ale. Although most of Kattegat's supplies were running low after the hard winter, for once there was enough for everyone.

"I must say, Earl Ragnar, in all honesty, you are a greater man than I am", Jarl Borg said as he sat down next to Ragnar, "I would have never forgiven any man who did to me what I did to you."

Ragnar smiled at the other chieftain, "Well, if I am being honest, it was King Horik who argued for the renewal of our old alliance. As you can imagine, I was less enthusiastic at first, but then I realized what could be gained by inviting you here."

"It seems King Horik is the man who broke our alliance, and who now reforged it", Borg laughed, "I know I don't deserve the chance you've given me. Since it was your land I invaded, I am mostly in your debt for forgiving me, not King Horik's. So I swear on my armring, I will never give you any reason to doubt my loyalty to you and our common cause – in fact, let me pledge my allegiance and fealty to you."

"I did not expect you to submit to me", Ragnar told him, "But as you are trying to make good for the past, I accept your pledge. You may keep you lands, as long as you keep faith with me."

The feast lasted until late in the night, skalds were singing and girls dancing. Everyone was happy, especially King Horik. Inviting Jarl Borg back into their alliance had been his idea, and not only had he an ally to attack Wessex, but also someone who could potentially neutralize Ragnar, should the need ever arise.

* * *

Jarl Borg's eyes flew open, as he heard footsteps in his sleep. Outside his room, someone was walking. Carefully, Borg's hand moved sideways and felt for the hilt of the sword hanging from its bandolier. He drew the blade and stood ready before his bed.

The doors flew open with a loud rumble, enough to cause Torvi to wake up with a shrill cry. Borg shrugged to greet the unwelcome visitors.

"Good evening, Jarl Borg", Rollo greeted him, "I told you, I always look for revenge."

Panting heavily, Jarl Borg awoke from his nightmare. His wife was still sleeping peacefully, his sword was hanging next to him, and outside the room, everything was silent.

* * *

The next morning, Aslaug turned around in her bed, facing her husband.

"The last night, we had the perfect opportunity to kill Jarl Borg", she told Ragnar, "Have you forgotten what he did to us?"

"No", Ragnar sighed, still half asleep, "But King Horik is right. We need an ally."

Aslaug shot him an angry glare.

"But why him?" she raged, "There are many Lords who would be glad to sail with you and King Horik."

"I know", Ragnar agreed, "Many of them have not the power to join us, though. We would have needed several of them as allies. And Jarl Borg would still be threatening us – By forgiving him, he no longer poses a threat."

* * *

Jarl Borg had settled himself in the hospitality of Kattegat. To him it was obvious that he was not at all welcome. Hardly a miracle, considering that he had attacked the town and killed many of the warriors during the feud with Earl Ragnar Lothbrok. But still, no one acted openly hostile towards him, a sign how well Ragnar had persuaded his people to accept their new ally.

Carrying the skull of his first wife, he walked towards the great hall, where a council between the Viking Leaders had been arranged, to plan for the coming raid on Wessex. Ragnar and King Horik were already waiting for him, he noticed. Rollo was also present, reinstated into Ragnar's trust for saving his family.

"I am sure, you all have heard how the English King Egbert betrayed us", Horik began, "He acted as if he wanted to negotiate with us, and when Ragnar left he treacherously attacked us."

"He certainly should be punished", Rollo agreed, "When do we set sail?"

"I will prepare my ships", Borg told them, "It will take a while. In the meantime, I am prepared to stay here, to prove there is no reason to mistrust me anymore."

"How long?" Erlendur, the King's son wanted to know.

"A few weeks, likely", Jarl Borg mused, "I believe, you have to do the same, King Horik?"

"My ships are almost ready", Horik informed them, "They will arrive here within the next two weeks, I hope."

"My ships are almost ready as well", Ragnar told the others, "Although a week or two wouldn't hurt.

After the plans had been made, Borg sent word to his lands in Götland. The warriors and ships were to be prepared in time to join Ragnar and Horik in the raid on Wessex. For the meantime, Borg himself stayed behind in Kattegat in hoping to cement the alliance by being the hostage of his former enemies.

King Horik had returned to his own lands, content to have gained a new ally. He was preparing his ships and warriors as well, at least the ones who had survived the catastrophe in Wessex.

* * *

It was in early spring, when a messenger to Kattegat created a new problem. Prior to the armistice with Jarl Borg, Ragnar had sent word into the land, asking for allies to defeat Jarl Borg and aid in the raid on Wessex.

The messenger came into the great hall, when only Ragnar and Thorstein were in it. They were playing a drinking game, although one that involved throwing knives and shooting arrows at each other.

"Son of a whore!" Ragnar muttered as he looked down on the knives stuck in his shield. He picked up the bow, while Thorstein placed a cup of ale on his head.

Swaying a little, Ragnar nocked the arrow to the sinew, then stared at Thorstein.

"Is your shield up?" he asked, "It is so dark in here…"

He took aim and loosened his arrow, hitting the cup of ale on Thorstein's head. Just in that moment, the doors opened and Rollo and another man entered.

"Who are you?" Ragnar wanted to know. He was certain that the man was not from Kattegat, and from the looks, he had traveled some distance.

"You sent word that you were in need of an ally", the man began, "My Earl asked me to tell you that he would be willing to join you. Earl Ingstad has enough men and ships to make your raid a great success."

"You are a little late, I am afraid", Ragnar grinned, "I have already found another ally."

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 _A/N: Well, it's been a while since I actually published a new story. I hope you like the idea – for a change, Jarl Borg is a (mostly) positive character in this one…_

 _I've also created a video trailer for this fic: youtu. be/ pzNCHcd1- RI (you know how it works, just copy the URL in your rowser and delete the blanks)_

 _Don't forget to review!_


	2. Earl Ingstad

**02 Earl Ingstad**

It was a cold day in Kattegat, when Earl Ingstad arrived. Spring had begun, but the winter was still fighting on, and a cold wind forced everyone in the town inside.

"Earl Ingstad is here", Thorstein reported to Ragnar, "Inquiring why he has not been accepted as an ally."

"I already told the messenger my reason", Ragnar sighed, "Very well, where is this Earl Ingstad?"

"He wouldn't enter the great hall, until he was accepted as your ally", Thorstein told him, "He chose to remain in the woods instead."

Ragnar and two of his warriors left Kattegat on horses, heading into the woods. In his mind, he was already rehearsing how he would tell Earl Ingstad in no uncertain terms that he and King Horik were no longer in need of an ally.

A lone man was standing in the middle of a small clearing. Ragnar rode towards him, "Earl Ingstad?"

A woman on a white horse came out from under the trees. As soon as he recognized her, Ragnar began to laugh.

"Earl Ingstad, you bear a striking resemblance to my ex-wife", he smiled.

"I feared if I had given you my true name, you might have turned me away", Lagertha explained, "Yet this still seems to have happened."

"Well, you took too long", Ragnar shrugged, "So we found another ally…"

"Who?" Lagertha asked angrily. It had been such a good thought, raiding again with her former husband and her son.

"We reinstated the old agreement with Jarl Borg", Ragnar explained, "He has sworn that we have no more reason to mistrust him…"

"And you believe him?!" Lagertha snorted, "He will betray you at the first chance he gets…"

"I believe him", Ragnar confirmed, "But if you still want to be our ally, you should take it up with the King…"

* * *

A few days later, Jarl Borg had taken up Rollo and Bjorn on the offer to join in a sparring match. Now the three warriors were standing bare-chested on the beach outside Kattegat, the waves rolling ashore and washing around their ankles.

For the first match, Bjorn and Borg were fighting together against Rollo. Both of them were carrying axes and Bjorn was also carrying a shield, while Rollo had chosen the - for him unusual - combination of sword and shield.

Bjorn was the first one to attack. He swung his axe and Rollo had to raise his shield to keep it from shattering his skull. Seeing the opportunity, Borg stormed forward, trying to end the fight quickly by striking Rollo in his undefended side.

Rollo moved out of the way, the axe cutting through the empty air only inches away from his skin. Instead of hitting him, it travelled further until Bjorn had to stop it with his own shield.

Bjorn punched his shield forward, hitting Rollo in the side. The large man grunted from the pain, but retaliated by swinging his sword around and forcing Bjorn to duck.

Borg was standing a little sideways, he was trying to get behind Rollo. While Rollo was occupied by Bjorn's attack, he snuck up on the other warrior. Rollo sensed his move somehow, and swung his sword in a wide arc, hitting Borg in the belly.

Thee geatish Jarl went down, splashing into the water. Rollo stabbed his sword downward, aiming for his opponent's head. Bjorn intercepted the blade with his shield, while trying to strike Rollo with his axe.

Rollo punched against Bjorn's shield with his elbow, and as the shield was pushed back, the rim hit Bjorn in the face. Blood was running out of his nose as he staggered back.

* * *

The midwives were hurrying around in the room, while Aslaug was covered in sweat. She had been in labor for hours, and slowly her strength began to fade, yet there was no sign of an end to this ordeal. Ragnar was sitting at the edge of the room, biting his nails, unable to give any relief to his wife.

Aslaug shuddered under another contraction. Her eyes flew open and she let out a small, hoarse cry, before they closed again. Everyone in the room knew how her chances were.

"Princess Aslaug", Siggy whispered into Aslaug's ear, "Listen to me: You are on the crossing of two paths. One side is filled with ash and fire and other hellish things. The other one is light, the fjord, your family – if you want to reach them, you have to push this baby out of you!"

Aslaug gave no visible sign that she had heard her friend, yet when another contraction shook her, it seemed as if the head had gotten a bit further out.

* * *

Bjorn was blocking Rollo's sword with his shield, while at the same time taking a step back to get out of his uncle's reach. He punched his shield forward, causing the blade to swing away from him. He feinted with his axe and as Rollo raised his own shield, he struck him with the rim of the shield in the side.

Rollo grunted and stumbled a few steps aside, while Bjorn quickly followed up with a chop aimed at Rollo's chest. The older warrior managed to just raise his shield high enough to catch the axe and had to watch out for Borg coming up behind him.

It was Thorunn who ended the fight. With her skirt flying around her ankles, she came running out of the great hall.

"Your father has a new child", she told Bjorn, "A son."

Next to Bjorn, Jarl Borg was breathing heavily.

"I must go and congratulate your father", he smiled, "It is never a bad day to have a son."

* * *

The midwives were gone, leaving Aslaug, Ragnar and their newborn son a bit of time for themselves. Aslaug was still covered in sweat, holding her newest child close to her breast. Silent tears were running down her cheeks.

"Your prophecy was right after all", Ragnar had said once he had held his new son for the first time. The baby's legs had been bent in awful shapes, as if Thor's hammer had smashed them. He couldn't help but blame Aslaug, since she had been the one to prophecies she would bear him a monster.

"He will never walk", Ragnar told his wife, "What kind of life could he lead? It is better to put him out of his misery…"

"I know", Aslaug sighed, "But I don't care. He's my son…"

* * *

Lagertha was sitting in King Horik's hall, chatting with the Queen while they awaited the arrival of King Horik. Both of them had heard from each other, being famous shieldmaiden, although they had never met before.

"So, how came it to pass that you are now an Earl in your own right?" Queen Gunnhild wanted to know.

"I killed my husband when he invaded me", Lagertha replied as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Gunnhild looked at her, bewildered for a moment, then broke out in laughter.

Just in that moment, King Horik entered the hall. Lagertha stood up from her chair and greeted him.

"Lagertha was just telling me how she is now an Earl herself", Gunnhild explained, "She's one of the most extraordinary people I've ever met…"

"Indeed, she is", the King smiled, "And if I'm not mistaken, you are here on business as an Earl, rather than fun."

"You're right, King Horik", Lagertha agreed, "I wanted to ask you to accept me as an ally for your raids into Wessex. It has been too long since I last sailed to England…"

"I am sorry to deny you, but we have already found an ally", Horik explained, "I am sure Jarl Borg will be of great help…"

"You chose Jarl Borg as your ally?!" Lagertha asked, "He's not trustworthy and you know that. You should get rid of him as fast as you can…"

"The agreement has been made", Horik shrugged, "We can't go back now. But of course, if you're willing to become the fourth party in this agreement, maybe we could arrange something…"

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 _A/N: So I hope you like me continuing this story - How is Ragnar going to react to King Horik overriding him?_

 _Don't forget to review!_


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